Daisypath Anniversary Years Ticker

Friday, April 25, 2014

KEEPING A PROMISE TO SERVE

All I wanted to do was to get out of the driver's seat of my van, open the side sliding door, put down everything in my arms, and get organzied.  That's all I wanted to do.

BUT there was a red small pickup truck in my way.  It's was in my way because the man driving the truck was waiting for me to move so he could pull into the parking space beside me.

I don't know what kind of face I made, I don't know if my impatience was evident on my face, I don't know if I looked huffy, I don't know.

So instead of opening the side sliding door, I walked to the back of the van and open the tailgate.  I put my stuff down, stood up, took a breath and organized all of my stuff and then picked it up.

By that time the man was out of his truck.  He was a tall, older than me, man wearing a red jacket.  That red jacket told me that this tall, older than me, man was a volunteer at the hospital where I work.  I wondered how he had perceived me getting out of my car.  I wonder if he saw how impatient I had been and I wondered how I could turn this all around for both of us.  (This all happened in a couple of seconds.)

So I said good morning and asked him, "So what do you do here?"

He was so pleasant.  He smiled just a little and said something like this:
     "Well, I help out at the information desk.  I help to discharge some patients.  I take patients where they need to go.  I do just about anything.  I serve.  You see I worked in Washington, DC for 41 years and I made I promise to God.  If he would help me to do my work there, then when I retired I would serve.  So I'm just paying back.  You know sometimes people just need someone to come sit in their room with them, they just need someone to read to them.  Sometimes they don't have anyone that can come see them.  So I do that.  Times are hard and if I can help someone then that's what I will do."

By this time we were at one of the entrances at the hospital.  He was going in and I was heading toward a different entrance.  He was a little ahead of me and to be honest I didn't want to end our conversation.  So I held out my hand and said, "My name is Beckie."

He turned and said, "I'm Stoats."  (I really don't know how to spell his name.)

And with a big smile that can only come when your day has been turned around 180 degrees I said,
"Have a wonderful day Stoats." He replied, "You too Beckie."

I don't really know Stoats.  I don't know if I will ever see him again.  I will look for him when I go to the hospital the next time and the next time and the next time.  I will seek him out.  I will seek him out because he made a huge impression on me.  I will seek him out to remind me to keep my promises and to remind me to serve.






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